UFO explosion in Vietnam
UFO blamed for mystery explosion in Vietnam
29/05/2008
A UFO is being blamed for a mysterious mid-air explosion over Vietnam.
A Cambodian police officer examines a piece of metal from the 'UFO'
Islanders on Phu Quoc, close to the coast of Cambodia, heard a loud bang and saw shards of metal up to 5ft-long raining down on them on Tuesday morning.
Local armed forces and volunteers were mustered to help rescue any survivors, believing there had been a disaster.
Officials estimated that the incident had happened around five miles up but airlines in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand were contacted and all said they had not lost a plane.
The island's military chief Col Nguyen Van Qui described the craft as an "unidentified flying object" according to Vietnam's state news agency.
Amid confusion over what had happened, the deputy commander of the Cambodian air force Kung Mony said he understood that a foreign plane had crashed in the Cambodian province of Kampot but later retracted the suggestion.
Villagers in Kampot said they had also heard a loud explosion and found small chunks of metal near the coast.
One possibility is that a military aircraft taking part in a secret mission exploded but its country of origin has not claimed it.
The theory was given some weight by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) report which said: "The explosion happened at about 8 km above the ground, and perhaps it was a plane, but authorities could not identify whether it was a civil or military aircraft."